In Moscow, the Kremlin says no final decision has been made on the fate of Russia's military bases in Syria. This is after Syrian officials said Russia is pulling its troops from the bases. Russia also claims to be in direct contact with Syria's new authorities.

A week after Syria's government was toppled following a rebel group taking control of the country, the Kremlin in Russia say a definitive decision concerning the fate of their military bases in Syria is yet to be made. Russia says it has already evacuated diplomatic personnel from Syria's capital, Damascus, and has established contact with the rebel leaders.

These statements come as reports from Syria claim Russia is actively withdrawing its troops from the front lines in northern of the country. Cargo planes have been spotted arriving at the Hmeimim air base in Syria's Latakia province and satellite imagery released by Maxar shows what appears to be the loading of military equipment.

More activity has been observed on the ground as a large convoy of Russian military vehicles was seen on the highway between Damascus and the city of Homs. More that 150 military vehicles have been spotted by Britain's Channel 4 news.

The fall of Syria's government comes as a blow to Russia, which supported it. However, there are claims that Russia has no intentions of leaving its two main bases in the country.

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